COMMERCE CITY, Colo. (KDVR) — Adams City High School in Commerce City is running the risk of closing its doors following the production of an independently-managed state review panel report.
Adams County School District 14 could also be completely reorganized by the state per report recommendations. Central Elementary School is also under review for improvement.
The report comes after years of what the state calls low academic performance within the Adams 14 district.
Recommendation for school closure has only happened four times previously, according to the Colorado Department of Education. Recommendations for district reorganization are unprecedented in Colorado, according to the department.
“I don’t want to see our school close,” said Adams City High School parent Jennifer Cole. “I’d like to see some improvements.”
The news was hard to take on Wednesday for some at Adams City High School. For others, the recommendations were not surprising.
“The teachers [are not] bad, but the students are just horrible,” an Adams City High School student told FOX31.
State education bureaucrats said the issues at the district are more than 10 years in the making.
“They have struggled with low academic student performance for more than a decade,” said Rhonda Haniford, CDE associate commissioner of school quality and support.
Haniford said the state board of education will ultimately determine what will happen to Adams City High School, Central Elementary School and the district as a whole.
“The Adams 14, and Commerce City community, have taken more blows at the hands of a handful of state officials than any community should,” said Adams 14 spokesperson Dr. Robert Lundin. “We have tried, in good faith, to work with the Colorado Department of Education and the [Colorado] State Board of Education to navigate this unknown terrain.”
“In response to performance concerns a few years ago, the state brought in a consultant company to manage Adams 14 with a new superintendent,” said Lundin.
The district didn’t see eye to eye with that company and brought in an independent superintendent, according to Lundin.
In January, the school board fired the consultant company. In response, Adams 14 said the state authorized another review panel leading to recommendations of closure and reorganization.
“Our district will remain an active force in this community,” Lundin said. “We’ll remain here for many years to come.”
The district must now fight for its survival— and two of its schools— at hearings before the Colorado State Board of Education on April 14. Lundin expressed disappointment over the district not having more time to prepare testimony before the board.
On Thursday, Adams 14 filed a motion to change the date of the hearings as it coincides with statewide testing. A special meeting has been scheduled at 12:30 p.m. to discuss the motion.
The state said the panel sought community input, but the district argued that the panel itself does not represent the community.
The district also criticized the state for not ensuring the panel’s report would be published in Spanish. The school community is bilingual. The state said it’s working on a Spanish translation.
